Distilling the Spirit of Carnivalwith Absolut Karnival

Having followed the inspirational story of Rafael Grampá in the launch of Transform Today and then tapped him for the global collaboration, Next Frame, Absolut has partnered wit the acclaimed Brazilian artist once again for a limited edition bottle. The first regional limited edition for Latin America, Absolut Karnival, flavored with passion fruit and orange blossom captures the transformative energy of Carnival.

“When Absolut asked me to collaborate on Absolut Karnival, I saw it as an opportunity to express my love of a festival that lets everyone be free and equal,” says Rafael Grampá. “In Carnival, everyone celebrates together. There is a beautiful, unique and uncontrollable feeling that our differences can be put behind us. We become aware of our own power to change ourselves and the world.”

“To evoke something of that in the bottle design, I knew it had to be colorful and cheerful. In the Carnival parade, normal people transform themselves into extraordinary things. I decided to try to represent that sense of transformation by putting the Carnival parade right onto the bottle,” says Grampá.

The resulting artwork features a cast of colorful characters, created by Grampá, on parade around the bottle. A dog dressed up as a rooster, a young man wearing the head of an old man, a blue-faced giant, happy to give a hug to whoever wants one, a beautiful “Queenfish,” and a character Grampá dubs “The Freedom Knight” and describes as a typical festivalgoer who fights taboos and prejudice with joy and music.